Cork University case study: Medical records scanning & off site records management

Industry:

Healthcare

Challenge:

Introduce best practice in records management

Solution:

Fully-managed digitisation service including document uplift, medical records scanning, hosting of digital files and ongoing off-site records management

Value:

• Releasing hospital staff so they can spend more time with patients
• Faster and more secure access to patient records with 99% next-day service
• Marked improvement in the way information is managed

Centre of excellence

Cork University Hospital (CUH) is the largest university teaching hospital in Ireland and the only Level 1 Trauma centre in the country, with a presence of over 40 different medical and surgical specialties on campus.

Serving a total population of 1.1 million, CUH has over 3,200 staff and 800 beds, shortly rising to 1,000 on completion of the transfer of additional services to the CUH campus.

The hospital annually manages around 209,000 out-patient visits, 45,000 inpatient discharges and 80,000 day cases. In addition, it is the primary teaching hospital for the Faculty of Health and Science in University College Cork.

Campus growth added complexity

Fast, accurate retrieval of medical files are critical to the operational efficiency of the hospital. However, storage space was coming under pressure.

Also, with patient records multiplying at a rapid rate, handling files on site was getting ever more complex. Iron Mountain® partnered with CUH to radically change the way information was managed by applying medical record scanning and off site records management

“We simply became overrun with records as the hospital grew in size,” said Siobhan Lynch, Medical Records Manager at CUH. “We found that we were receiving more calls to retrieve documents. A combination of increased work flow and stretched resources persuaded us to start working with Iron Mountain.”

"Since working with Iron Mountain we’ve become more efficient and compliant in how we store, access and handle our records."

- Siobhan Lynch, Medical Records Manager Cork University Hospital

Ensuring that the hospital runs smoothly with off site records management

Iron Mountain solutions allowed CUH to securely move patient files off site, while also introducing advanced bar coding, indexing and digital technologies to ensure continued, easy access to files.

“Since working with Iron Mountain we’ve become more efficient and compliant in how we store, access and handle our records,” added Siobhan.

“Now, we get to information quickly,” Siobhan continued. “All file retrieval requests now go through a highly secure web portal, ensuring complete transparency and ease of access for our staff. This is a major benefit to the running of the organisation.”

"By making the most of the best practices from Iron Mountain, we’re able to ensure that the focus of our work remains on bringing the best possible care to our patients. "

- Siobhan Lynch Medical Records Manager Cork University Hospital

Releasing clinicians and medical teams

More than 90,000 boxes of records are under Iron Mountain’s management, releasing busy hospital units, such as A&E, X-Ray and Radiotherapy, so they can dedicate more time to treating patients.

Hospitals traditionally have a high level of active files that regularly move from department to department. Designed for productive record management, the Iron Mountain solutions address these challenges, enabling CUH to deal with over 6,500 retrieval requests per month, over 60% of which originate from the X-Ray unit.

Information management culture change

The Iron Mountain service includes a 99% target for next-day delivery of medical files to CUH

“Iron Mountain is now a trusted partner, all of which can only be good for overall patient care at the hospital. Our relationship has been characterised by a marked improvement in the way our staff access critical medical records, but also the culture around records management,” said Siobhan.

“By making the most of the best practices from Iron Mountain, we’re able to ensure that the focus of our work remains on bringing the best possible care to our patients.”